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Zod (DC Extended Universe)
Dru-Zod (also known as "General Zod," "Commander Zod," or simply "Zod") is the main antagonist of the 2013 superhero movie Man of Steel, the first installment of the DC Extended Universe. He is portrayed by Michael Shannon, who also played Frankie Lombardo in Kangaroo Jack. Biography Born on the planet Krypton, Zod was genetically engineered to be a commanding leader and fierce warrior. Rising to the rank of General, he was put in charge of Krypton's military, and was fiercely devoted to protecting his world and his people. He also became good friends with the scientist Jor-El. Believing that the Kryptonian Council was too weak and foolish to lead their race, Zod decides he needs to take charge to ensure his people's survival and leads his soldiers in a coup. He and a few of his men, including Sub-Commander Faora, violently interrupt a session between the Council and Jor-El. Zod informs Jor-El of his plans and tries to convince the scientist to join him, but when Jor-El refuses, he orders two of his soldiers to take him away. Later, Zod and his soldiers travel to the House of El citadel, seeking the Genetic Codex (a repository of genetic information from which all Kryptonians are bred with predetermined life paths) that Jor-El stole earlier after escaping from Zod's men. Zod confronts Jor-El, demanding the Codex. When he learns that Jor-El and his wife Lara Lor-Van naturally conceived a child, Kal-El, in defiance of Kryptonian law, an angered Zod moves to destroy the spaceship containing the newborn Kal-El and the Codex, leading to a fight with his former friend. Jor-El wounds and momentarily overpowers Zod, who begs Lara to not launch the ship, but when Lara ignores his pleas, he fatally stabs Jor-El in a fit of rage. Moments later, Zod exits the citadel and orders Kal-El's ship to be shot down, but they are all arrested by the Sapphire Guard. Sometime after that, Zod and his followers stand on trial before the Council, who sentence them to 300 years of somatic reconditioning inside the Phantom Zone for high treason. Zod rants angrily at the Council leader, denouncing the entire Council as fools, before turning on Lara (who's present at the trial) and vehemently vowing that he will find her son and reclaim the Codex. He and his men are then placed into cyrogenic stasis before being loaded aboard the Black Zero, a massive Kryptonian ship which is then put into the Phantom Zone. After Krypton explodes, Zod and his comrades are freed, and they look forlornly at their planet's remains. They then spend the next 33 years searching the galaxy for other surviving Kyptonians, only to find that all of Krypton's colony worlds died out when their homeworld stopped communicating with them centuries ago. Around the time that Kal-El, now called "Clark Kent," activates an ancient Kryptonian scout-ship on Earth, Zod's crew picks up the ship's distress signal and travels to Earth, where Zod transmits a message to the humans, requesting that they hand over Kal-El or suffer the consequences of his wrath. Clark surrenders to the US military, who hand him, along with Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane, over to Faora. Once face-to-face with Clark, Zod greets him cordially, but does little to help when Clark collapses due to his body not being suited to the Kryptonian environment aboard the Black Zero. Later, through a mental simulation, Zod speaks with Clark and reveals that he intends to use a World Engine in conjunction with the Black Zero to transform Earth into a new Krypton and eradicate the human population, then use the Codex to genetically engineer new Kryptonians to inhabit the planet. After the simulation ends, he reveals to a shackled Clark that he murdered Jor-El and expresses regret over having done so, but informs Clark that he would do so again in order to save his people. Zod then travels to Smallville, accompanied by Faora and a couple of his men, in search of the Codex, which he believes is inside Kal-El's ship. He arrives at the Kent Farm, where he interrogates Clark's adoptive mother, Martha Kent, as to the Codex's whereabouts. Clark, having escaped from the Black Zero along with Lois, arrives and tackles Zod, whom he angrily punches numerous times for threatening his mother before they crash-land in the middle of Smallville. Zod's visor is damaged by Clark's assault; exposed to Earth's environment, he is overwhelmed by his manifesting powers as Clark taunts him. Two of his men then arrive and take him away, leaving Clark to battle Faora and Nam-Ek. Later, back aboard the Black Zero, Zod, recovered from his sensory overload, learns that, years earlier, Jor-El encoded the Codex within Kal-El's own cells. Once informed that Kal-El doesn't need to be alive in order for them to extract the Codex from him, he deploys the World Engine to the Indian Ocean and initiates the terraforming process by hovering the Black Zero over Metropolis. While this happens, Zod heads to the Arctic, where he boards the scout-ship and activates the Genesis Chamber aboard. As does this, he is confronted by a holographic projection of Jor-El, who tries to persuade him to abandon his plan; Zod, however, rebuffs the hologram and purges it from the ship's systems before taking the helm and flying the ship to Metropolis. Clark, now dubbed "Superman," destroys the World Engine, while the military loads his spaceship onto a military cargo plane and flies it towards the Black Zero. When Superman arrives, crashes into the scout-ship, and prepares to destroy it, Zod protests, telling him that any chance of saving their homeworld will be lost if he goes through with destroying the ship, but Superman declares that Krypton had its chance before using heat vision to damage the scout-ship, causing it to crash in the middle of Metropolis. After Zod's soldiers are sent back into the Phantom Zone, Zod emerges from the wreckage. As Superman flies over to him, Zod laments the loss of his men and the chance to re-create his long-dead homeworld. His grief quickly turns into a murderous rage, and he violently strikes Superman before advancing on him, vowing to kill every single human just to spite Kal-El. The two Kryptonians then engage in a huge fight that stretches across Metropolis, throwing punch after punch at each other, destroying buildings and bringing down skyscrapers. During the fight, Zod quickly masters heat vision. The two prove an even match for most of the battle, and cause enormous amounts of destruction throughout Metropolis with their heat-vision, superhuman strength and patterns of flight. Halfway through the battle, Zod sheds his armor and hones his ability to fly before his fight with Superman resumes, moving to the sky and temporarily in space before the two crash into Metropolis Central Station, where Zod spots an innocent family and emits a blast of heat vision that inches closer and closer to the family. Superman begs Zod to stop, but Zod says "Never!" and continues bringing the heat beams closer to the family until Superman is forced to snap his neck, killing him. Legacy ]] To be added by Lex Luthor]] Personality Genetically engineered as a brutal warrior and leader, Zod struggled to distance himself from his bred purpose in life. He was, however, capable of compassion and had a strong relationship with some of his closer minions as well as Jor-El. He was exceptionally cruel and violent when pushed, and would use immense brutality if angered. Zod was extremely ruthless and intolerant, willing to do absolutely anything to achieve his goals; this is best shown when he expressed regret over murdering Jor-El, but stated to Kal-El that he would do it again if the situation demanded it. Zod was a no-nonsense character and not afraid to act on instinct, such as when he decided to overthrow the Kryptonian Council to no avail. However, he was also an angry person who could turn on a whim and show his brutal side. Additionally, he wasn't afraid to release brute force upon innocent people to get revenge, such as when he lost his men during the Battle of Metropolis and he decided to kill humans with his heat vision just to get back at Kal-El for thwarting his plans. Appearance Zod is an enormously tall and extremely muscular man with brown eyes, short dark hair, and facial hair on his chin. He wears an all-black Kryptonian outfit that bears the silver emblem of his family on the chest and features a black cape and black boots. He also has a long battle scar to the left of his left eye from his fateful duel with Jor-El. When apart from the Kryptonian military, Zod wore dark brown, almost grey battle armor that covered most of his arms, all his torso and legs. Designed to fit seamlessly over his undergarment, it also had Zod's emblem on the chest. Zod also wore an all-silver metal heavy-duty battle armor that had protection areas on the torso, arms and legs that were designed to protect him from weapons such as an energy lance or a Kryptonian rifle. This armor was quite large and bulky, but fiercely intimidating. The armor also had a helmet that protected Zod's head in battle. However, with it on, Zod could only leap enormous distances and perform drops, but only when he sheds his armor can he actually fly. This is because, whilst the armor is extremely strong and durable, it is not as flexible and does not compensate to factors like agility, which are required for flying properly. Powers As a Kryptonian, Zod gained enhanced physical attributes whilst under the rays of a yellow sun. * Super Strength * Super Speed * Super Stamina * Super Hearing * Super Breath * Arctic Breath * Heat Vision * Telescopic Vision * X-Ray Vision * Flight * Healing Ability * Longevity * Invulnerability * Super Dexterity Weaknesses Despite appearing to be virtually invulnerable and potentially immortal under a yellow sun, Zod was vulnerable to other super-powered beings with strength enough to challenge his own, such as other Kryptonians and other alien races. When he first came to Earth and experienced his powers activating in a yellow-sun environment, a potential sensory overload overwhelmed Zod and he was forced to compensate until his body adjusted by wearing a protective visor. The radiation of a red sun totally nullifies those he gains from a yellow sun, making him vulnerable to harm. Quotes Trivia * It has been confirmed by the film's writers that Zod deliberately provoked Superman into killing him, as he believed that he no longer had a purpose in life, and thus wanted to die after his plan to rebuild Krypton failed. List of film appearances *''Man of Steel'' *''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' (corpse) Gallery 123px-StandardZodSuit.png|Lego General Zod released in his standard suit 165px-Armoured_Zod.png|Zod released in Lego in his armor Category:DC Villains Category:Superman Villains Category:Anti-Villain Category:Gunmen Category:Traitor Category:Friend of the hero Category:Heroes turned to the Dark Side Category:Deceased Villains Category:Extremists Category:Delusional Category:Brutes Category:Misanthropes Category:Hegemony Category:Harbingers Category:Arrogant Villains Category:Military Villains Category:Fighter Category:Villains Who Can Fly Category:One-Man Army Category:Male Villains Category:Aliens Category:Villains with Superhuman Strength Category:Control Freaks Category:Warlords Category:Provoker Category:Harbinger for Rebirth Category:Power Hungry Category:Humanoid Category:Usurper Category:Seeker Of Vengeance Category:Suicidal Villains Category:Lego Villains Category:Nihilists Category:Mass Murderer Category:Xenophobes Category:War Criminals Category:Movie Villains Category:Supremacists Category:Protective Villains Category:Laser-Users Category:Leader Category:Tragic Villain Category:Revolutionary Villains Category:Evil Superman Category:Megalomaniacs Category:Warmonger Category:Vehicular Villains Category:Hatemongers Category:Remorseful Villains Category:Barbarian Category:Social Darwinists Category:Soldiers Category:Big Bads Category:Jingoist Villains Category:Supervillains Category:Heavy Weapons Users Category:Live Action Villains Category:Action Movie Villains Category:Fearmongers Category:Empowered Villains Category:Destroyers Category:Reactionary Villains Category:Hypocrites Category:Evil from the past Category:Dark Messiah Category:Bio-Engineered Category:Villains with accelerated Healing Category:Evil Genius Category:Dimension Travelers Category:Died in Disgrace Category:Wrathful Villains Category:Knifemen Category:Dictator Category:Fascists Category:Egomaniacs Category:Immortals Category:Old Villains Category:Child-Abusers Category:Oppressors Category:Magnificent Bastards Category:Anarchist Category:Criminals Category:Charismatic villain Category:Nemesis Category:Neutral Evil Category:Posthumous Villains Category:Destroyer of Innocence Category:Strategic Villains Category:Scarred Villains Category:Psychopath Category:Homicidal maniac Category:Omnicidal Maniacs Category:Injustice Villains Category:Honorable Villains Category:Affably Evil Category:Emotionless Villains Category:Lawful Evil Category:God Wannabe Category:Outcast Category:Inmates Category:Dark Knights Category:Extravagant Villains Category:Sophisticated Villains Category:Shieldmen Category:Speedster Category:Mutated Villains Category:Aerokinetic Villains Category:Cryomancers Category:Successful Villains Category:Depowered Villains Category:Revived Villains